Why your restaurant should have a Facebook page

In most cases, setting up a Facebook page for your restaurant is a given. But, are you asking yourself why your restaurant should have a Facebook page? It’s a good question to ask. To help you answer it, here are 8 good reasons for setting up a Facebook page for your restaurant.

8 reasons why your restaurant should have a Facebook page

It’s extremely beneficial to setup a Facebook page for your restaurant, especially if you want more sales!

#1 Increase your restaurant’s exposure to potential customers

Facebook has over 1.19 billion users. You will be exposed to a much larger audience, compared to traditional methods of marketing. This means you will be able to engage with your loyal customers, and new customers in a more ‘social’ and relaxed way. When your customers have a positive interaction with you on Facebook, it will translate into sales on your online ordering system.

#2 Gather more leads & lower your restaurant’s marketing costs

When you have a Facebook business page, you can market to your customers for little to no cost. By running competitions or giveaways on your page you. can generate more business activity for your online food ordering service. Plus, get your business noticed in a fun and creative way.

Facebook ads are relatively inexpensive. You can advertise your restaurant, takeaway, or store by ‘boosting’ your Facebook post for a small fee. This will get more traffic to your food ordering website and app. Little spend = big result.

#3 Reach your restaurant’s targeted audience

When you run ads on Facebook you can target people within a certain distance from your restaurant. You can also make sure the ads are shown to people who like the type of food you make. When you target your ads, you ensure that you’re only paying to reach the people most likely to order from your restaurant.

The most effective way to influence your customers, is to reach them directly. A Facebook page for your restaurant allows you to do this. Facebook gives you countless opportunities to advertise. When you advertise, mention your location — it helps you connect the right people to your online ordering website or app, and boosts your chances of appearing in search engines like Google.

#4 Understand your restaurant’s customers with Facebook Insights

When you have a Facebook business page you have access to view ‘insights’. Facebook insights shows you how your restaurant’s page is performing when it comes to promoting your brand.

You can see specific data like how many people you’ve ‘reached’ with your Facebook post. This is how many people have seen the post, and your brand. You can also see how many people have ‘engaged’ with your post. This is people that have liked your post, or clicked on the link to your website. A high engagement rate means you’re posting good content, and people are interested in your restaurant.

One of the best ways to use insights is to see how many people have clicked through to your website link using your Call To Action (CTA) button. Your CTA button gives a clear way for your customers to order from your restaurant with buttons like “Shop Now” or “Use App”. Or perhaps you want to see how many customers reached your website through a post you shared with a link to your food ordering system?

While it is important to run promotions for your restaurant, it is even more important to review these promotions. This helps you to learn what works, and spend your marketing budget as effectively as possible.

#5 Build your restaurant’s brand loyalty

With a Facebook business page you can create valuable and entertaining content. Most people who are using social media to search for businesses are looking to make a purchase. Why not use this to your advantage and engage with them to make sure they buy from you?

Posting images of your food along with your great offers, is a great way to give your customers a reason to order with you right now. Being active and responsive on Facebook shows you care about your restaurant, so your customers will know you care about your food too.

When customers trust you, it means you’re more likely to get their business, and they will use your online ordering website or app — not your competitors. By using Facebook for your restaurant, you will be able to build strong brand loyalty, and convert your audience into customers that use your online ordering system.

#6 Increase your restaurant’s website traffic

With a Facebook business page you can make posts that combine appealing content (offers, images, recipes, latest menu items) with links or CTA buttons to your website or app for ordering. By posting this appealing content, you will catch the eye of your customers. When they’re interested in what your restaurant does, they are very likely to click on the links and buttons you post — bringing customers to your online ordering website.

As we said earlier, the CTA button e.g. ‘Shop Now/Use App’ is the perfect way to bring your customers from your Facebook page to your website. Similarly you can use your website link in Facebook posts, images, and in your Business overview/info section. This will help you to increase the amount of traffic going to your website and app and therefore, increase your online orders. Win-win!

#7 Boost your restaurant’s search engine performance (SEO)

The more ways people can find your restaurant, the better! When you have a Facebook business page, you have a higher chance of appearing in Google searches as there are more links to your business.

It makes you more credible and you will rank higher when people are looking for your restaurant by searching your brand name. It also helps your restaurant to appear higher on search engine results when they search for the type of food/cuisine you make. Even better is when you mention your location, so your customers know delivery is available, or collection is nearby.

If people can find your website easily, they will be able to order your food more easily. Traffic to your online ordering system will definitely increase. Facebook gives you endless opportunities to include your location and other relevant information about your page.

#8 Make your restaurant mobile ready

The majority of your customers access Facebook through their smartphone. When customers want to order from a restaurant, they are usually sitting at home browsing. Here are the things they want to know:

Your restaurant opening hours

Your menu

Images of your food

Your reviews

Your location for collection

Your delivery areas

An easy way to order online

So make sure that your Facebook page info is filled out to include all of the above. This makes it easier for your customers to make their decision to order, and reduces the chance that they will go to your competitors instead.

It is so important to be available on mobile as it is so accessible and widely used by your customers today.

Where your customers used to phone you, with smartphones, they now prefer to order online. So give your customers a simple way to find you on Facebook, and then go straight to your website to order your food for collection or delivery.

Setting up a Facebook page is also what we do as part of our service when you sign up for our online ordering system. If you’re interested in online ordering for your restaurant, contact us by clicking below.